(CNN) — The war in Ukraine might soon enter a new and even more dangerous phase.
Russia, angered by the loss of its flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, has warned of “unpredictable consequences” if the United States continues to supply weapons to Ukraine, while Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskystruck a somber note telling CNN that the world should be prepared for the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin might use tactical nuclear weapons.
The sinking of the guided missile ship Moskva on Thursday is the biggest loss of a naval ship during the war in 40 years, and a great embarrassment for Russia.
It comes at a time when US intelligence officials are warning of Putin’s increasingly unpredictable behavior and willingness to take risks out of anger over Russia’s failures in Ukraine.
While Moscow has denied the Ukrainian version of events — that the Moskva sank following being hit by Ukrainian missiles — it was forced to admit that the ship sank.
Russia has insisted fire was the reason for the sinking, but the US on Friday confirmed Ukraine’s account, with a senior defense official saying the US believes two Ukrainian Neptune missiles hit the warship. Russian.
As the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the Moskva was one of its most visible assets in the Ukraine war and its loss might affect the morale of Russian troops. Tellingly, the Russian government has failed to acknowledge casualties in the sinking of the ship, a stark contrast to the very public discussion of the Kursk submarine disaster, which claimed the lives of 118 sailors in 2000.
Russia may have shut down the independent media, but the loss of Moskva has probably made Putin even more furious regarding the situation in Ukraine. US officials believe Putin is angry at the failures of his troops in Ukraine. They believe that Putin’s advisers have not told him the whole truth and have not prepared him for possible setbacks.
The warship fiasco comes just weeks following senior Russian military officials announced a change in approach to the invasion following their offensive appeared to have stalled in major Ukrainian cities such as Kyiv and Kharkiv. Russia has also failed to achieve complete air superiority in Ukraine and has suffered heavy losses in personnel since the beginning of the invasion.
Russia was quick to fight back
Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command said in a statement Saturday morning that the situation in Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv and Kherson regions was “increasingly hostile.”
“Desperately trying to gain a foothold and hold onto positions on the southern front, the world’s most disgraceful army is hunting civilians in the Mykolayiv and Kherson regions. Sniper work has been recorded in some areas.”
The statement said Russian forces were “enraged by losses in the Black Sea” and had “intensified the missile threat” in the region.
Natalia Humeniuk, the spokeswoman for the armed forces in southern Ukraine, said the missile strikes since Thursday night were in retaliation for the sinking of Moskva.
“We all realize that we will not be forgiven,” he said, accusing Russia of using “cluster munitions prohibited by international conventions.”
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine earlier said it had received credible allegations that Russian armed forces had used cluster munitions in populated areas of Ukraine. The non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) has also confirmed the use of cluster munitions by Russia throughout the conflict.
Zelensky on Friday praised the Ukrainian armed forces for repelling Russian attacks, saying they were “doing brilliantly.”
Zelensky also praised the help Ukraine was receiving from Western countries, but called for more weapons to be sent to the country. “The more and sooner we get all the weapons we have requested, the stronger our position will be and the sooner peace will come,” he said.
More weapons for Ukraine
In another sign that the war in Ukraine is not going as Russia planned, Moscow has formally protested the continued shipment of US weapons to Ukraine. sent a diplomatic note to the State Department warning of “unpredictable consequences” if the support continues, according to two US officials and another source familiar with the document.
Some officials in the Biden administration believe the diplomatic note shows that the Russians are suffering, an official said. The official explained that they believe the Russians would not have sent that message if they felt they were in a strong place on the battlefield.
The note, known as a management, was sent earlier this week as the US administration was preparing to announce that ewould send a new military aid package worth US$800 million to the Ukrainians. The EU has also approved an additional €500 million for military equipment for Ukraine.
For the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US is providing Kyiv with high-powered capabilities that some officials in the Biden administration considered too great an escalation risk just a few weeks ago.
These include Mi-17 helicopters, 18 155mm howitzers and 300 more Switchblade drones. These types of weapons are designed for the type of fight that is likely to take place in the donbas region: open land instead of urban and forested areas.
Ukrainian military and regional officials have said Russian attacks have intensified in the Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk regions in the country’s east as they prepare for a major ground offensive there.
Serhii Haidai, head of the military administration of the Luhansk region, has warned civilians remaining in Luhansk to leave the area. “It is extremely dangerous to stay in the cities now. The shelling has intensified,” he said.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said “the main goal of the Russian enemy is to regroup and strengthen troops” around Slobozhansky, an area a short distance south of Kharkiv.
In the same area, according to the General Staff, the Russian forces have concentrated up to 22 battalion tactical groups around Izium. A battalion tactical group typically comprises around 1,000 soldiers.
Julia Presniakova, Tim Lister, Olga Voitovych, Nathan Hodge, Celine Alkhaldi, Ben Wedeman, Kareem Khadder, Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen, Katie Bo Lillis, Kaitlan Collins, Kylie Atwood and CNN’s Sean Lyngaas contributed to this report.
